Abstract
Philip Gorski’s effort to bridge the gap between social science and morality is well intended, but misguided. His attempt to tear down the wall between facts and values does not succeed. To understand why, we must recognize that morality is an enterprise in which we humans participate; one based on the creation, modification, and implementation of moral rules. It is, in short, prescriptive rather than descriptive. Language that suggests otherwise is misleading. Normal, as opposed to “moral,” facts do apply to morality, but their role is best explicated in a tripartite theory of morality. This argues that moral rules are: 1) informal and paradigmatically learned, 2) created and modified in polarized social negotiations, and 3) largely enforced by emotional means. Once this is understood, the temptation of social scientists to import their own moral commitments into their scientific endeavors makes sense, as does the need to draw a line between these.
Similar content being viewed by others
Further Reading
Aristotle 1941. The Basic Works of Aristotle. Edited by R. McKeon. New York: Random House.
Austin, J. L. 1961. In J. O. Urmson & G. J. Warnock (Eds.), Philosophical Papers. Oxford: Clarendon.
Ayer, A. J. 1946. Language, Truth and Logic. New York: Dover Publications.
Bentham, J. 1948. An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Oxford: Clarendon.
Bettleheim, B. 1977. The Uses of Enchantment. New York: Vintage Books.
Boydston, J. A. (Ed.). 1988. The Collected Works of John Dewey. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
Clausewitz, C. 1908. On War. New York: Penguin.
Damasio, A. 2005. Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. New York: Penguin.
Durkheim, E. 1915. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. New York: The Free Press.
Durkheim, E. 1961. Moral Education. New York: The Free Press.
Fein, M., & Fein, M. 1992. Analyzing Psychotherapy: A Social Role Interpretation. New York: Praeger.
Fein, M. 1993. I.A.M.: A Common Sense Guide to Coping with Anger. Praeger: Westport, Conn.
Fein, M. 1997. Hardball Without an Umpire: The Sociology of Morality. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Fein, M. 1999. The Limits of Idealism: When Good Intentions Go Bad. New York: Kluwer/Plenum.
Finnis, J. M. 1980. Natural Law and Natural Rights. New York: Oxford University Press.
Freud, S. 1953–1974. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. (Edited by J. Strachey. London: Hogarth Press and Institute for Psychoanalysis.
Gerth, H., & Mills, C. W. (Eds.). 1946. From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Gorski, P.S. 2013. “Beyond the Fact/Value Distinction: Ethical Naturalism and the Social Sciences.” Society, Vol. 50, N. 6.
Hare, R. M. 1964. The Language of Morals. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hayek, F. A. 1988. The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Hume, D. 1739. A Treatise on Human Nature. London.
Kant, I. 1788 1956. Critique of Practical Reason. Trans. L.W. Beck. New Yoerk: Bobbs-Merrill Company.
Marx, K. 1967. Das Capital. In F. Engels (Ed.), Translated by Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling. New York: International Publishing.
Maslow, A. 1954. Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper and Row.
Maull, A. 2013. “Weber’s Social Space of Reasons.” Society, Vol. 50, N. 6.
Mill, J. S. 1857. Utilitarianism. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.
Moore, G. E. 1960. Principia Ethica. Cambridge: The University of Cambridge Press.
Nietzsche, F. 1886 1966. Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future. Trans Walter Kaufmann. New York: Random House.
Nussbaum, M. 2006. Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality, Species Membership. Cambridge, MA: Belknap.
Rainwater, L. 1970. Behind Ghetto Walls: Black Families in a Federal Slum. Chicago: Aldine Transaction.
Rousseau, J.J. 1968. 1762 The Social Contract (Translated by Maurice Cranston) New York: Penguin Books.
Rousseau, J. J. 1992. The Discourse on the Origins of Inequality. In D. Roger (Ed.), Masters and Christopher Kelly. Hanover: University Press of New England.
Sable, A. 2013. “Whose Flourishing? Which Aristotelianism?” Society, Vol. 50, N. 6.
Simon, H. A. 1947. Administrative Behavior. New York: Macmillan.
Smith, A. 1776. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. London: W. Strahan & T. Cadell.
Smith, C. 2013. “Comparing Ethical Naturalism and ‘Public Sociology’” Society, Vol. 50, N. 6.
Sumner, W. G. 1960. Folkways. New York: New American Library.
Tilly, C. 2004. Social Movements: 1768–2004. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers.
de Tocqueville, A. 1966. Democracy in America. Trans. by George Lawrence. New York: Harper & Row.
Turner, S. 2013. “Sociology Rediscovering Ethics” Society, Vol. 50, N. 6.
de Waal, F. 1982. Chimpanzee Politics. New York: Harper & Row.
de Waal, F. 1996. Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wittgenstein, L. 1953. Philosophical Investigations. Trans. G.E.M. Anscombe. New York: The MacMillan Company.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fein, M.L. Social Science and Morality: An Empirical Analysis. Soc 51, 452–463 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-014-9811-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-014-9811-0